What do you eat?  Lately I've been getting asked this quite a bit.  People see me with my cooler and little bags of food containing meals that look pretty tasty and they wonder what my nutrition plan is and how I prep it so that I'm always ready for any situation.  Would you like to know my secrets?  It's really pretty straightforward, it just requires a little discipline.

On Saturdays I go to the grocery store.  I get the following items, which I will breakdown by meal, and will even list the times I eat each day:

• Meal 1 (7am) :  1 cup of oats, 1 and 1/2 cups egg whites, 1 tablespoon almond butter, 1 scoop Shakeology
• Meal 2 (10:30am) : 1 handful (25) almonds, 1 apple (the sugar will be burned with a morning workout within the same hour)
• Meal 3 (1pm) : 2 cups spinach, 1/4 cup canned salmon (moister than tuna), 6oz sweet potato
• Meal 4 (4pm) : 8oz chicken breast – baked, 10 asparagus spears
• Meal 5 (7pm) : 8oz chicken breast – baked, 6oz broccoli or brussels sprouts, 2 cups spinach, 1/2 avocado

On Sunday (or later Saturday if I have time) I cook it ALL for the week.  I then split it up by meals for the week, putting each meal in a small plastic bag.  Meals for the next 3 days go into the fridge, while meals for the rest of the week go into the freezer.

That's about it.  As the week goes along, I can simply take each meal from the fridge and eat it, or take it with me if I need to go somewhere.  I have a small cooler for day trips with an ice pack and a larger cooler for weekend trips with 2 ice packs.  This creates a 2400 calorie day, so simply vary the amounts according to what your caloric requirements might be for what you're trying to accomplish!

I make sure all of the people in my fitness challenges use this as a guide for their nutrition.  If you're interested in finding out more about my fitness challenges, click the Beachbody Challenge banner on the left!

Paula Deen is an American cooking icon.  She was one of my mom's favorite resources for tasty meals as she was augmenting her cooking skills with the Food Network.  In fact, my dad had me write Paula when my mom passed thanking her for being an inspiration.

Yet, as I learned more about eating healthy and what truly good nutrition is, I saw how unhealthy these rich tasty dishes were.  Now, I'm totally aware that it's up to each individual to watch their own nutrition and indulge in moderation, but recipes like these clearly helped contribute to the heart conditions that took my father at the age of 55 in 2008 from sudden heart failure.

Paula Deen recently admitted that she has known for the past three years that she has type 2 diabetes.  She stated that she kept the information private because she wanted to "figure things out in my own head".  Meanwhile she continued making a living off her super rich high fat high sugar recipes on her show, in cookbooks, website, etc…all the while happily uttering the phrase "add another stick of butter, y'all!".

She sells a butter warmer pan.  A pan whose sole purpose is warming butter.  She sells butter flavored lip balm.  No, seriously.  All the while she talks about doing everything in moderation, that she doesn't live like she cooks, that everyone should moderate their diets and they'll be fine.  Meanwhile, she admits that was staggered when she finally calculated how much sugar she drank from lunchtime to dinner via sweet tea.  How's that for moderation?

To be fair, at the end of the day Paula says "I'm your cook, not your doctor."  The problem with that, however, is that nutrition is as vital a part of health as anything out there.  In fact, it's the MOST important aspect of health.  So essentially, your cook IS your doctor, for better or worse.  Paula Deen talks about how she cooks for the families who worry about paying their bills and feeing their families, yet I have written about how healthy eating can be just as affordable as unhealthy eating, especially when you look at all the ingredients needed for many of Paula's recipes.

Paula is beloved by tons of people because she exudes Americana and homestyle memories.  People love her, trust her, enjoy everything she does.  However, her own son has created a show specifically themed around the fact that her recipes aren't healthy.  His show is called Not My Mama's Meals and is centered around healthier versions of her recipes.  In other words, her family is purposely providing unhealthy AND healthy versions of their recipes in order to double their money.

It's unfortunate.  I like Paula when I see her on TV.  She seems like the nicest person in the world.  I just hope that the media that will come from her admitting this publicly will one day cause HER show to be more like her son's.  I'd also love to give her some Shakeology to help control that Type 2 Diabetes, since it's designed to be low glycemic.  Here's to a healthier future for Paula Deen and America!

Merry Christmas to you all!  Today is the perfect day for me to share my absolute favorite memory with you, and let you know what TRULY motivates me to do what I do everyday!

I can't remember when it started, but one year when I was very young my parents started the tradition of planning a weekend, no matter where we lived, to drive to Dallas, Texas for a fun weekend of Christmas shopping for the family.  Now on the surface, this sounds rather commercial, but it was truly a magical weekend.

We would start by packing the car with our luggage and our two Christmas cassettes – The Christmas Album and The Mormon Tabernacle Choir It's Christmas.  I have great memories of falling asleep in the back of the car while listening to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing Joy to the World.

When we arrived in Dallas, we would head straight for Prestonwood Mall in Addison.  Prestonwood Mall was unfortunately torn down in 2004 just after I moved to Dallas, but back then it was a great huge fun mall.  I remember random things like a guy on a motorcycle with a Santa hat pulling up beside us as we pulled into the mall, or the random "fur is murder" picketers outside one year.

Our agreement was that my dad and I would shop together and my mom would go shop on her own, then we would meet up later.  In this way, we could get my mom's gift, and she could get ours.  However, after we split up we would immediately run into each other again because we all had the same thing on our minds – Neiman Marcus's epicure shop!  Their epicure shop was full of free samples of candies, cakes, all the little things we desired after a long drive.  So we would laugh at seeing each other there, and then split off once again to do our shopping.  Prestonwood Mall had an amazing massive clock that was one of its defining features, essentially one of the pillars of the building inside was a huge grandfather clock.

After a full day of driving and shopping we would head over to the Doubletree Hotel to check in and relax a bit before dinner.  As soon as we checked in, we would get the famous Doubletree cookies free to every guest.  The Doubletree was located right in the middle of Dallas and always had lots going on inside.  I even recall one year being there for Halloween and there being a haunted house inside the lobby.  They always had a fantastic breakfast buffet.

Once we were freshened up and relaxed, we would head out to The Magic Time Machine for dinner.  The Magic Time Machine in Addison is a family restaurant that was originally a schoolhouse.  It looks perfectly normal on the outside, but on the inside you quickly realize this isn't like any other restaurant.  All the waiters and waitresses are dressed up as characters, from Superman to Waldo to Cinderella, and the tables are hidden inside things like giant pumpkins, crayons, and other unique items.  The salad bar is a salad car, which you are walked to in song by your waiter, as you are any time you wish to use the restroom.  If your party is large enough you can order a feast they call the Roman orgy, and a whole team of wait staff sing it to your table.  I remember one year when Superman served us, but I questioned his authenticity so he got up on a table and jumped off, cape flourishing.

The next day we had our breakfast buffet and went to the Galleria mall, a truly impressive four story mall with a massive four story Christmas tree in the middle surrounded by an ice skating rink.  We would go up to the third story coffee shop and sip on hot chocolate while watching the skaters skating around the Christmas tree.  Then we would walk around the mall, going into Macy's to shop, enjoying seeing the festive families getting all their presents and sharing their Christmas cheer.

Once we were done shopping we would pack all our gifts in the car and hit the road, listening to Christmas music all the way back home.  We still had Christmas itself to look forward to, family to visit, much to look forward to, but this yearly trip to Dallas was always a magical special family time for us.

That's why, after my parents passed away, I decided that being a health & fitness coach and helping people be fit and healthy would always be a part of my life.  I want everyone out there to have the great family experiences and create as many family memories with their parents that they can, since that part of my life is gone.  If I can be a small part of helping others create these special moments and memories, like the ones that mean so much to me, then that makes each Christmas, and every holiday, that much more special to me.

Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and may you and your family have many more magical family memories for years to come!

Dependability – a value showing the reliability of a person to others because of his/her integrity, truthfulness, and trustfulness, traits that can encourage someone to depend on him/her.  So dependability is an aspect of integrity, a value that is So valuable, yet becoming SO rare these days.  Why is that?

Why can't we count on people anymore?  Why is it just so easy for people to say one thing, and then do another, with no remorse or afterthought?  Is dependability really simply a trait that is dying off?  Things people told us USED to be as dependable as Lucy moving the football just before Charlie Brown goes to kick it, but these days the actions of people are as if you never know WHAT Lucy is really going to do, regardless of what's come before.

Now I am far from perfect myself, growing up I was guilty of lacking this trait quite often, telling a football coach I was sick when I really was just sick of practice….but over the years I become a pretty dependable person, because it was a core value instilled in me by my parents – that is, if you don't have your integrity and people can't depend on you, you have nothing.

"Our integrity sells for so little, but it is all we really have. It is the very last inch of us. But within that inch we are free." – Valerie, V for Vendetta

These days, I will certainly suffer from the occasional memory lapse, but very rarely will I knowingly say one thing and then do another later.  If it does occur, I'd better have a damn good reason.

Decide. Commit. Succeed.  They're the core values of the Beachbody community, and until that middle part commitment is adhered to in this same sense…until you become dependable, not just in your health but with EVERYTHING you do and say to others, you're lost.  You haven't crossed the hurdle you need to cross to succeed in anything.

So just try this.  If you SAY you're going to plan something, MAKE IT HAPPEN.  If you SAY you're going to be somewhere, GO THERE.  If you SAY you're going to do something with someone, DO IT.  If you SAY you're going to make a long term commitment, whether to your health, business, anything…MAKE THE COMMITMENT, and then STICK TO IT THE WHOLE TIME.

I know, I know, it's a crazy concept, but here's the other side of the coin.  If you DON'T…then by definition you don't have integrity.  You become someone who is NOT dependable.  You CAN'T be counted upon, relied upon.  You may still be a great person, fun to be around…but you will STOP having people rely on you for important things.  Do you REALLY want to become "that" person?

Wouldn't you rather be the person that everyone around you can depend upon for anything?  The person that only has to be told something ONCE, and everyone simply KNOWS it will get done, without having to repeat over and over?  The person someone can expect to see somewhere because they KNOW you will be there?

Which are you?  Which would you like to be?

I know I'm always looking for more dependable people to add to my coaching team, and my inner circle of friends and loved ones.  If you truly believe it's you, definitely let me know ASAP, because it's a dying breed, and the world needs more!

For the past few months I have been doing my own 5 Day Slimdown Challenges with people on Facebook, helping them get started with great Beachbody fitness programs and using Shakeology to get their nutrition in check.  These people have seen great results, but the question has been…what's next?

Here's the basic idea:

Tight, focused groups of 5 people all starting the same fitness program (P90X, Insanity, Hip Hop Abs, etc) and using Shakeology & custom meal plans

Daily support, accountability and nutrition support to ensure great results

Entry into the Official Beachbody Challenge contest with daily, monthly, quarterly and grand prizes up to $100,000

It's that easy.  The Challenge Packs are cheaper than any starter packs Beachbody has ever offered, and all come with Shakeology and 30 days in the Club, featuring customized meal plans and much more.

So get excited, go find 4 friends (or more, I'm happy to create multiple groups!) and contact me today to start YOUR challenge!  I can't wait to start helping people see real results with daily support and motivation!

TAKE THE CHALLENGE!

Please click "Like" and comment below!

- John Hays Beachbody Coach

About the author:  John Hays is a super friendly web developer, photographer, and health & fitness coach using products like P90X, Insanity, Hip Hop Abs, and Shakeology to help people get in the best shape of their lives.  His proven methods of personal accountability and constant support have helped people see major life changes, and John has lost 36lbs & 49% body fat with Hip Hop Abs.  John's photography has been seen in numerous publications, and he has worked with such web clients as Jack Daniel's, Mission Tortillas, Joe's Crab Shack, Conoco/Phillips and many more.

Usually I like to focus on my journey and how it can relate in ways to inspire and perhaps educate.  However today some exciting pieces of news were unveiled regarding many of the fitness programs and nutrition items I am passionate about, so I simply had to share the great news!

The BEST WAY to stay on top of all these things is by
Making Me Your Coach for FREE Today!

Here are the various things coming:

P90X Certification! - This is BIG!  If you are a personal trainer, or simply wish to teach P90X in a class format, now you can! – COMING IN SPRING

Beachbody Tai Chi home fitness program - This will be perfect for rehab work, as well as older audiences!

Beachbody home fitness program version of Les Mills Body Pump – Les Mills Body Pump is a very popular gym based muscle building program to add muscle, very popular in both American gyms as well as around the world! – COMING IN DECEMBER

TROPICAL SHAKEOLOGY WILL BE VEGAN!!  – COMING IN JANUARY

Post Your thoughts in the comments section below!

My Hip Hop Abs infomercial test group journey has ended.  Here are my results:

• 36lbs lost – from 235lbs down to 199lbs
• 49% body fat lost – from 23% body fat down to 12% body fat
• 27.5" off my body
• 5.5" off my waist
• 5" off my chest

The numbers are great, but more than what I lost is what I gained.  I gained new friends, many new experiences, a bucket list item marked off in living in New York, and perhaps most importantly, a newfound sense of self.  My cousin Jimmy coined the term years ago, but I have to agree…I'm a different animal.  It's said that it takes 25 days to form a habit.  I was on a strict nutrition plan and daily workouts for 3 months…my habits have officially changed.

Today is my birthday.  I'm 34, but I feel like I'm 26.  Most of my friends happily told me to indulge, have whatever I wanted to eat today, after all it's my birthday, right?  However, after having indulged in New York City during my last week there, I actually really want healthy food and my workouts back.  In fact I began today with a trip to my personal trainer and enjoyed a great upper body workout.  It's who I am now.  21 days…it doesn't take very long to become a new animal.  Do you have what it takes to try?  Let me know, I'd love to help you.  It's what I do, after all.

Focus, focus, focus!  Do you ever notice that as you're approaching a goal you've had for a long time, you start seeing more and more temptations and resistance? You can see the light at the end of the tunnel, yet the world starts spinning a bit, it gets harder to focus, everything around you starts pulling at you, trying to divert you from that goal.  There's even been a book written on the subject, The War of Art by Stephen Pressfield.  

This is the final Friday of our Hip Hop Abs infomercial test group.  Monday is the final day we get to workout with Shaun T.  We then immediately switch locations and start our After photos and videos, followed by interviews the following two days…and then it's basically over.  I have been called back the following week for a round table discussion with some of the more impressive weight loss stories, but other than that it's a done deal.  I'll be sure to write a total wrap-up look back blog post, but for now I want to focus.  Focus on this weekend, and "focus" itself.

This weekend.  I've had other weekends in this process where I've slacked just a bit.  We all have our reasons, don't we?  My biggest has been the start of college football, where the game times have broken up my timing on my Saturday workouts, so I've slacked on them.  Of course that's a horrible excuse, just as any excuse is…that's why it's called an excuse.  However, THIS weekend is the LAST weekend…if I can keep my focus just for 3 more days, then I'm at the finish line!  Can you imagine?  Who can't do 3 days of focus, right?  It's easy to say, hard to do, especially with all the cravings of the world still right there.  I am committed, though…so close to my goal…so close to being able to say I'm under 200lbs for the first time since high school.  Let's see what happens!

Please click Like above and comment below, thanks!

- John Hays Beachbody Coach

About the author:  John Hays is a super friendly web developer, photographer, and health & fitness coach using products like P90X, Insanity, TurboFire, and Shakeology to help people get in the best shape of their lives.  His proven methods of personal accountability and constant support have helped people see major life changes.  John's photography has been seen in numerous publications, and he has worked with such web clients as Jack Daniel's, Mission Tortillas, Joe's Crab Shack, Conoco/Phillips and many more.

Nutrition: The Power of Shakeology.  Sometimes, even when you use an amazing meal replacement like Shakeology that gives you energy, stops cravings, and covers all your nutrition needs for the day, you forget just how vital it is.  For instance, during my days here in New York City as a member of the Hip Hop Abs infomercial test group, I have been taking Shakeology every day.

Very early on, when the trainers were figuring out our individual nutrition needs, they saw the need to up my calories and protein, but when they saw that I was a Beachbody coach and loved using Shakeology for my nutrition, they told me to go ahead and take it every day, unlike most of my non coach classmates who were introduced to Shakeology weeks later, and even then only as a rare treat.  This was great, but the catch of it was that, due to my taking it every day, my provided food calories and protein were never upped along with some of the other test group members, since Shakeology took care of that for me.  Also, since I was a coach, they just assumed that I would always have my own full supply, yet I had NOT assumed the need to bring it, so I'd been having it shipped to others back home for their use/storage/etc…

Thus, when I ran out and there was a gap in getting some from back home, I suddenly no longer had my daily nutrition needs met, and I suffered for it.  This past week was the first week that I did not lose any weight whatsoever, and it was a week without Shakeology.  Now, obviously my weight loss is going to be less now than it was when I started as I approach  my goal, but I definitely still have fat to lose, and I thought I was working hard in the workouts, but I knew that my nutrition felt off, as did my energy level, and I once again had tons of cravings like I had the first week before I initially got my Shakeology.

So, the moral of the story is simply that something like Shakeology is never to be taken lightly when it's part of your regular nutrition, especially when your nutrition has been calculated so accurately to your body and you're really focused on seeing results.  Always make sure you have your supply on hand, and that you're on Home Direct straight to wherever you are so that you never miss a bag, because it WILL affect your energy, your cravings, and your results, and that's certainly not something you want when on your journey to fitness!

Please click Like above and post a comment below!

- John Hays Beachbody Coach

About the author:  John Hays is a super friendly web developer, photographer, and health & fitness coach using products like P90X, Insanity, TurboFire, and Shakeology to help people get in the best shape of their lives.  His proven methods of personal accountability and constant support have helped people see major life changes.  John's photography has been seen in numerous publications, and he has worked with such web clients as Jack Daniel's, Mission Tortillas, Joe's Crab Shack, Conoco/Phillips and many more.

 It just seems like a quick drive over to McDonald's or Burger King is so much cheaper than trying to buy a ton of groceries, right?  It's so easy, the food is fast and cheap, and we'll get back on that horse tomorrow and get a longer walk in or something to make up for it, no problem!

This is disastrous thinking.  It's incorrect on so many levels!  Fortunately, I'm here to help you.  I'm here to debunk this pervasive myth, and to show you just how easy it is to eat healthy and stay on budget!

Let's continue building on the last two blog posts I've written.  The first was how to NAIL your nutrition to the WALL and always be prepared with a meal no matter where you are.  The second was WHAT to eat, the building blocks for a healthy nutrition plan.  Let's take that, those few simple building blocks, and show the reality of cost:

Protein.  This is where the bulk of cost is.  Meat costs more than any other basic ingredient, it's just the way it is.  However, when you pick a healthy lowfat protein, you're getting your money's worth.  Let's look at a basic chicken breast, say 8 ounces.  If you buy a bag of chicken breasts somewhere like Sam's or Costco, a single 8 ounce breast will cost around $1.  No really, just $1.  It will also run around 220 calories with about 50g protein.

Veggies.  Go walk over to the produce section.  It's packed with nutrition, and most of the items are super cheap!  At an average weighted price of around $1.00 a pound, 4 ounces of fresh green beans would cost around $0.25.

Greens.  At an average price of $1.35 a pound, 6 ounces of spinach would cost around $0.65.

Let's say you're splurging with this meal, and including carbs.  So let's add some sweet potatoes in there!  Again, average weighted price of around $0.60 a pound, so 6 ounces of sweet potatoes would cost around $0.25. It will run about 150 calories, 850mg potassium.

So that's a healthy meal for around $2.15.  Chicken breast with fresh spinach, green beans and sweet potato.  Not too shabby.  However, let's splurge even more and say you want to season your food, and let's round that all the way up to a whopping $3!

Not bad, not bad.  Now let's look at another healthy option.  Let's say you don't have time to fix that meal, you simply want to down something healthy, so you select your Shakeology.  Now for $4, $3 with the coaching discount, you are getting the equivalent of a $41 salad, with 70 different superfood ingredients to completely nail your nutrition for the entire day in one tasty filling meal replacement chocolate shake.  Again, not bad at all.

Now let's look at your fast food options that above seemed like the obvious cheap fast choice, shall we?  First off, let's look at McDonald's:

Yes, I'll take one Big Mac, with a side of fries and a medium Coke, yes make it the "Extra Value" meal, thanks!  That will be $5.19.  What do you actually get for that?  You get 540 calories from the Big Mac (260 calories from fat), 29g of fat, 250mg sodium, 9g sugar, 45g carbs, 25g protein.  You ALSO get another 380 calories (170 calories from fat) from the fries, 19g fat, 270mg sodium, 48g carbs, 4g protein.  You ALSO get 210 calories from Coke, 58g sugar!  Extra value, indeed!  That's 1,130 calories from one quick meal for $5.19!

So that's either around 400 calories for the $3 chicken breast/green bean/spinach/sweet potato meal, or 140 calories for the $3 Shakeology meal vs 1,130 calories for the $5.19 Big Mac "Extra Value" meal.  

THAT is the real truth out there, folks.  The excuses for driving through McDonald's are just that, excuses.  They're baseless and simply incorrect.  It will cost you MORE and be MUCH worse for your health, and that decision will not be the only one.  It's a compound effect.  You make that one choice, then another little one the next day, and so on until your body feels lethargic and you don't even have the energy to do a workout or even go for a walk and you just spiral downward.

I'm here to show you a better way.  I'm here to give you hope.  Hope on a budget, how does that sound?  What choice will you make tonight? Tomorrow?  Can you justify it to yourself, to your family?  What will you do?

- John Hays Beachbody Coach

About the author:  John Hays is a super friendly web developer, photographer, and health & fitness coach using products like P90X, Insanity, TurboFire, and Shakeology to help people get in the best shape of their lives.  His proven methods of personal accountability and constant support have helped people see major life changes.  John's photography has been seen in numerous publications, and he has worked with such web clients as Jack Daniel's, Mission Tortillas, Joe's Crab Shack, Conoco/Phillips and many more.